


Of Stubborn Parents and Even More Stubborn Sons

by Mademoisellesnowflake



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: And has a surprisingly dark past, And he loves wine, Celebrían gets things done, Elros is mentioned a lot, F/M, Finally Celeborn is there, Finwë's grandchildren love each other so much, Glorfindel is a gift, Hurt/Comfort, Lindir is a ray of sunshine, Maglor is (relatively) happy, Maglor is found and taken care of, The twins don't really do much but they're cute, They're pretty much like 5-year-old human kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-04
Updated: 2016-03-23
Packaged: 2018-05-24 18:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6162055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mademoisellesnowflake/pseuds/Mademoisellesnowflake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Celebrían accidentally finds and drags Maglor to Imladris and sets out an interesting series of events that will hopefully heal the broken noldo. (Can be found in FF.net as well under the same username, chapters will probably be posted daily until I reach the newest one.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Which We Do Not Move Much

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a story I started writing on summer thanks to a conversation we had about Maglor and fading and other terrible things and I posted this on ff.net and since I finally managed to create an account here as well you can find it here too xD

For Maglor, being dragged to Imladris by the silver lady herself wasn’t actually that bad. The bad part, however, was trying to avoid his foster son – who happened to be the lord of Imladris – and not being seen by those who still saw him as a kinslayer. So when he stumbled upon two small elflings who looked so very much like young Elrond and Elros had looked, he felt terrified. Not because he felt like he had been taken back by millennia (which, of course, was terrifying already) but more so because he knew the elflings would drag him to their father and there was no way he’d be able to run away from that.

“He’s tall, Ro”, the elfling in red clothes whispered. “And he looks scary.”

“But he looks nice, Dan”, the identical elfling in blue answered.

“Let’s take him to ada!” both exclaimed happily after looking at each other for some time.

“He must know this person”, the one in blue said with a wide grin.

“He knows everything!” added the one in red with an identically wide grin.

Maglor couldn’t help but let a tiny feeling of warmth wash over him. He would have known those grins everywhere and would have given everything he had ever had to get back the time he had had with Elrond and Elros. Thinking of the twins made his heart feel the same pain he felt every night when he tried to fall asleep on the ground or rocks he had found. Oh, how he wished he could sleep even a bit so that the horrible tiredness that had followed him ever since he cast the silmaril into the ocean would go away. What he’d do for a good sleep once in the cursed state he had been in for thousands of years…

“My name is Elladan!” the elfling in red declared. “Our ada founded this valley.”

“I’m Elrohir”, the elfling in blue said with a smile. “We’re twins and Dan’s the older. Who are you?”

“I used to be called Káno”, Maglor answered after a long silence. “Though I used to have other names too.”

“You have really light voice!” Elrohir exclaimed happily. “I thought you’d have lower voice since you look so old and a bit angry.”

“Let’s go to ada!” Elladan giggled and tried to tug Maglor’s right arm to make him turn around. “You could stay here and ada would like to thank you for helping nana.”

“Indeed I would, boys”, an older male voice said behind Maglor. “But should you not be helping your mother who surely wants to rest as soon as she has unpacked her things?”

 _Can I run away?_ Was all Maglor could think.

“Ada!” the boys shrieked happily and ran to the lord of Imladris. Maglor turned his head and saw how the said elf-lord easily caught the boys and swung them once over his head, smiling a smile so happy Maglor would never have thought to see again on that face. The elf-lord placed the elflings on the ground and waved them off to see their mother. It was as if the elf-lord had never seen anything bad in his life. He turned to smile sadly at Maglor and to be honest, that was all that was needed to completely freeze Maglor.

“You’re quite late, Maglor. I’ve waited for you for over an age.”

Maglor hesitated for what seemed to be an eternity until walking to his foster-son. Then, without giving any warning, Elrond hugged Maglor and the two fell into an uncomfortable silence.

“I should have punched you before hugging you”, Elrond huffed from the height of Maglor’s neck. Maglor couldn’t really protest so he hugged Elrond back and patted the top of Elrond’s head. “I should have punched you and dragged you all the way to Lothlorien so lady Galadriel could have gotten angry at you by herself.”

“So… Artanis is still alive and kicking?” Maglor asked hoarsely.

“Alive and kicking indeed”, Elrond chuckled. “As of now she rules Lothlorien with her husband lord Celeborn… And I guess there is a lot to talk about for both of us.”

“Talking?” Maglor asked and suddenly pushed himself away from Elrond. “No, I need to leave soon! I don’t even know what I’m doing here… I can’t let Elrond find me, I’d probably just cause pain to him…”

“Maglor, I’m right here”, Elrond said, frowning and trying to reach Maglor’s arm. That made Maglor jump further back and stare at Elrond like he had never seen an elf.

“Who are you?” Maglor asked with a voice so quiet that it almost faded under the sounds of the fountain and waterfalls. “I have seen you somewhere… Why cannot I remember?”

“Maglor, you are in Imladris”, Elrond told with the most firm voice he could summon. “This is a safe haven to those who need a place to stay… You would be more than welcome to stay here.”

“How do you know my name…?” Maglor asked softly. “Wait… You’re Elrond, aren’t you? It’s been so long since we saw each other… Or was it just few years ago? No, it can’t be, you’re so much older… Or are you just a hallucination like the others?”

“Maglor, I am real”, Elrond said, reaching out to Maglor’s arm again. “Just see for yourself. I’m not leaving anywhere.”

 _He must be fading…_ Elrond thought. Maglor seemingly struggled to decide whether he should believe Elrond and let himself be touched or to not believe Elrond and run away. In the end, he could not decide from the two and sat on the ground instead. He took out a broken instrument which looked very much like Maglor’s old harp that always played the pretty melodies Elrond fell asleep to. Elrond sat next to Maglor and placed his hand on Maglor’s slumped shoulder.

“I can’t remember what broke it”, Maglor whispered. “I can’t remember when I last ate or slept… Everything’s a blur. I don’t even know how I am here… I just remember a beautiful lady talking to me and telling that I’d meet my son soon…”

 _So that’s how Celebrían got him here!_ Elrond almost laughed aloud when he imagined Celebrían telling Maglor over and over again that his son was waiting for him.

“That must have been my wife”, Elrond explained with a tender smile. “I can present you to her later.”

“Wife?” Maglor asked and for a second Elrond could have sworn that there was a smile on Maglor’s face. “My little Elrond has a wife? When did this happen? Ai, I should never have left, why was I such an idiot?”

“It’s alright, Maglor, you can stay here and heal now”, Elrond said and squeezed Maglor’s hand.

“What do you mean?” Maglor frowned. “Why would I need to heal?”

“Maglor, you have been fading for an age, you can still heal”, Elrond reasoned (or tried to). “I don’t want you to be in pain anymore! I’ve been looking for you for way too long. Can I not have my foster-father back?”

Maglor looked at Elrond with immeasurable sea of sadness in his eyes. He shook his head miserably and leaned it on Elrond’s shoulder. He was shuddering slightly in the wind, like a tall grass on the seashore.

“I cannot”, Maglor whispered. “I simply cannot, what if Eärendil appears with the silmaril and the oath makes me do something stupid? What if the Valar decide to punish you for shielding me? What if…”

“Maglor”, Elrond said with an amused tone, “my father has not come to me after Gil-Estel rose in the night sky, he will not suddenly decide to visit me. As for the Valar, they will not punish me for healing a broken elf.”

Suddenly there was a soft sob and Elrond was drawn into an embrace and Maglor was pouring apologizes from his mouth. Elrond smiled and started rubbing circles on Maglor’s back, hoping to soothe the taller elf even a bit.

“So am I allowed to interpret that so that you will be staying here?” Elrond grinned in his own childlike way after Maglor had calmed down and let go of the elf-lord.

“…for few years at least”, Maglor whispered with an expression that looked weirdly like a pout.

“Now, we should probably get you a bath”, Elrond said and stood up. “I really hope you have bathed at least few times while you’ve been wandering…”


	2. In Which There Are Introductions and Smiles

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we don't really get anywhere yet... But Maglor does get his bath!

After washing himself Maglor did feel better and somehow lighter. He couldn’t really name the feeling, perhaps it was the mood of Imladris that lifted his spirits up a bit. Where Himring had been cold and made of stone, Imladris was warm, welcoming and almost like a part of the nature. In Imladris, the elves were happy and smiled to everyone while in Himring the elves had been stern and smiles had been rare occasions, usually given only under heavy influence of alcohol. (Unless the smiles were given by little Elrond and Elros, they got everyone – even Maedhros – smile occasionally.)

While wandering around aimlessly (since he had no clue where Elrond would be) Maglor encountered a strange elf clad in green. The elf stared at Maglor for a moment and suddenly bowed slightly. Then the elf continued to walk wherever he had been going, leaving Maglor alone to stare at the disappearing black-haired male. After some time Maglor frowned and turned around in his attempt to find Elrond.

Instead of finding Elrond, Maglor was found by the elflings he had encountered after Elrond’s wife – whom Maglor hadn’t had any chance to introduce himself to yet – had dragged him to Imladris. The red-clad elfling flashed Maglor a grin that looked so much like Elrond’s that something inside Maglor jumped. The elflings dragged Maglor into a terrace where there were few chairs, a table and Elrond himself sitting with the lady who had dragged Maglor to Imladris.

“We found him, ada!” the elflings laughed and jumped on Elrond’s and the lady’s laps. “Now you can tell us who he is.”

“That’s great, boys”, Elrond said and smiled at Maglor. “Come sit here so I can present you to them and you can tell what has happened to you.”

Maglor sat down obediently and looked at his foster-son with a questioning look. Before anyone else could do anything, the little twins had decided to bombard Maglor’s legs which made Elrond burst out laughing.

“I – I’m sorry”, he laughed, “but I remember you always laughing at me and Elros whenever we decided to do the same thing to Maedhros. I just couldn’t help it…”

Maglor felt his face heating slightly and he decided that the elflings grinning at his feet were very interesting. For some reason talking had become very hard for him. He sighed and patted the elflings’ heads.

“Ada, can you tell us who this is?” the elfling in blue – Elrohir asked impatiently. “He hasn’t said anything else than his name when we first met him!”

“Really?” Elrond asked. “What did he call himself?”

“He said he’s Káno!” the other elfling – Elladan declared. “Is that a shortening of his name or something?”

“Actually I’ve learnt to know him as Maglor”, Elrond explained. “He took me and my brother in after my mother fled with the silmaril…”

“Ada has a mother?” Elladan asked. “How can he have a nana when he’s an ada? Nana, please explain!”

“Well, your father has had to have been given birth”, the lady explained. “Just like you and Elrohir were given birth.”

“But we can’t remember that”, Elrohir protested. “And I can’t imagine ada being young…”

Elrond burst out laughing again and hugged his son. He then lifted Elrohir and placed him on Maglor’s lap while still chuckling. Even Maglor felt a smile tugging the ends of his lips upwards.

“Do I really look that old, little one?” Elrond chuckled and brushed Elrohir’s cheek with his hand.

“But adaaaa!” Elrohir protested. “You’re thousands of years old! How can I imagine something so old?”

“Well, you have a good point, little one”, Maglor said. Elrohir giggled and hugged Maglor.

“Finally you’re speaking”, Elrond said with a smile. “This is my wife, Celebrían”, he said, motioning to the lady with silver hair. “She’s the daughter of lady Galadriel and lord Celeborn and quite a powerful lady herself.”

“Out of all people you decide to fall in love with Artanis’ daughter?” Maglor asked with an exasperated sigh. “But I’m happy for you two. I truly am…”

“What is it?” Elrohir’s small voice from Maglor’s lap asked. “Why do you look so sad?”

“It’s nothing”, Maglor said quietly. “I would like to take a walk by myself, I hope you do not mind.”

“Please do so, Maglor”, Celebrían said with a gentle smile. “I hope you would accompany us to dinner in the Hall of Fire in the evening, if you’d like.”

“That would be my pleasure, dear cousin”, Maglor said quietly and disappeared into the woods.

***

Maglor did appear to the dinner in the Hall of Fire but ate only a little. Instead of eating, he was far more interested of Celebrían and the twins and their stories. He heard from Celebrían how Galadriel was faring and almost even promised to go for a visit. (Until Elrond interfered and said it would probably be better to plan the visit first and warn Galadriel about her cousin being found.)

After the dinner Maglor tried to avoid Elrond but the elf-lord managed to catch him so the two could talk. Elrond took Maglor to another terrace where they could see Imladris with all its small lanterns that kept it lit up at nighttime.

At first the two didn’t talk of serious matters, the main subject were the twins and Elrond’s life but slowly the half-elf started changing the course of the conversation to the time when Maedhros and Maglor had tried to retrieve the last two silmarils. After a while he finally found out how exactly Maedhros had died. (Needless to say neither enjoyed the part of the conversation.) After that, Elrond changed into lighter subjects right away. He learned of how Maglor had wandered around and almost walked into Círdan more than once. (Which made Elrond chuckle. Of course his foster-father would do that.)

After talking for another hour, Elrond escorted Maglor to the room where the latter would reside as long as he wished. He explained how everything worked and showed the changes of clothes that were given to Maglor and told that he’d wake up to the breakfast bell if not before. Then he retired, hoping Maglor would be able to sleep at least, otherwise he’d have to prepare another sleeping draught.

Things were well. For the most part…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll have to apologize in advance because I realised few weeks ago that I had completely forgotten to tell people who the elf in green was... Does anyone want to guess? :'D


	3. In Which Maglor Gets a Friend

Maglor slept for few hours but then woke up abruptly even though the sun had not yet risen. First he didn’t understand where he was but then he remembered Elrond and what had happened the previous day. As he could not sleep, he decided to put on some day clothes and wander around Imladris a bit to get to know the area. He also felt a bit hungry (which he had not felt for hundreds of years) so he decided to get some light snacks from the kitchen. (He hoped the staff did not know of him…)

When he entered the kitchens, they were desolate, let out one black-haired elf in green clothes sipping tea. For few seconds his piercing eyes locked with Maglor’s and then the elf nodded slightly, inviting Maglor to sit with him. The elf handed Maglor a small piece of bread and a cup of tea. He then proceeded to place a jar of something that oddly reminded Maglor of the jelly he had always eaten in Aman next to Maglor’s food on the table.

“What’s that?” Maglor asked quietly, eyeing the suspicious jar.

“It’s jelly”, the elf answered. “The kitchen staff love to make it from the berries that can be found from the valley.”

“But why would you give some of this to me?” Maglor asked. “We don’t even know -”

“You don’t usually eat bread with nothing on it, do you?” the elf interrupted. “And even though we don’t know each other yet, we can get to know each other by telling our names. Mine is Erestor.”

“…Maglor”, Maglor said quietly. “How long have you lived here?”

“I moved here shortly after Imladris was founded”, Erestor told. “Before that I had been living in Lindon where I worked as a librarian. I was born in the havens of Sirion but at the time of the kinslaying I was away, visiting my kin in Lindon…”

“I’m sorry”, Maglor whispered, feeling slightly shocked. He actually had never thought that he would meet a survivor of any of the kinslayings and the air felt somehow colder now.

“It is not necessarily your fault”, Erestor said suddenly. “It was not a wise decision to make the Oath but you swore it in the heat of a moment. You and your family had lost something of great value and truth to be told -” he inhaled “- I think that many survivors of the kinslayings would have sworn a similar oath themselves to get rid of you…”

“Was that supposed to comfort me or make me feel worse?” Maglor asked exasperatedly.

“Those were the facts”, Erestor stated. “I wasn’t trying to make you feel any different.”

“Well, you did”, Maglor grumbled. “…We’re you also ready to swear an oath after the kinslaying?”

“I was barely fifteen years of age at that time”, Erestor said. “I didn’t really care about it for I had so few memories of Sirion.”

“I see…” Maglor whispered. “Why are you up at this hour anyway?”

“Why are you so interested in me?” Erestor asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, besides Elrond and his family, you’re the only one who has even tried to talk to me”, Maglor almost exclaimed with a frustrated wave of his hands. “And I want to know what’s been going on! It makes me go crazy that I know of nothing what’s been going on since I started wandering around aimlessly hundreds of years ago. I know nothing about my foster-son nor his family! Wouldn’t that kind of life make you crazy?”

“…You are an odd person”, Erestor mumbled amusedly after blinking few times. “Go to sleep, you need some rest.”

“I won’t”, Maglor declared. “If I sleep now, the nightmares and the images will return. And besides, you’re the one who needs sleep, Erestor.”

Erestor rolled his eyes and asked: “Do you want to talk about them?”

“If you sleep first”, Maglor said and crossed his arms. Erestor snorted but heeded Maglor’s advice nonetheless.

***

On the morning the first person whom Maglor met was surprisingly lady Celebrían. At first sight she knew that Maglor hadn’t slept even half of the night and gave a friendly scolding to Maglor, as if he had been another of her children. Then she sat down and started chatting with Maglor. She told Maglor how on some mornings she would wake up in Elrond’s embrace and how hard it was to untangle herself from the sleeping elf-lord’s arms since she never wanted to wake him up for he never got enough sleep. Maglor listened to Celebrían very intently and suddenly Celebrían started chuckling, telling Maglor he looked like a child who wanted to know how his favourite story would end.

Almost half an hour later Elrond walked to the balcony where Maglor and Celebrían and informed that, to his surprise, Erestor had actually gone to sleep at a bit more reasonable time than usual. When Maglor told that it may have been his fault, a mighty laugh erupted from the elf-lord and he patted Maglor’s back.

“So you actually managed to talk with him?” Elrond asked after his laughing fit had ceased. “And you got him to sleep?”

“Is it somehow hard?” Maglor asked, looking like a lost little child while he watched Elrond’s amused expression.

“Our dear Erestor says usually only the necessary”, Celebrían explained with her gentle voice. “He hardly sugar-coats his words and he has hurt many because he simply states the things as they are.”

“Well, I find that kind of mentality good”, Maglor mused, more to himself than to his companions.

“And he does that a lot”, Elrond told with his grin.

“He does what a lot?” Maglor asked, looking at Elrond.

“He talks to himself like you just did”, Elrond told, smiling at the elf before him. “He must have gotten that from one of the scribes in Lindon who always muttered to himself. You could hear him almost anywhere you went, there was no escaping from his voice.”

“He must have been annoying if he spoke all the time”, Maglor thought aloud.

“Well, at least you could sleep in peace without him talking in your room”, Elrond laughed. “If you want to know about the elves in Lindon, Erestor would know better for he had access to almost everyone’s lives as he was a librarian. You should ask him.”

Maglor nodded and excused himself for he didn’t feel like eating very much. Instead, he wandered around the valley and talked to a young harpist who was called Lindir. The youngling told Maglor stories of Lothlorien where Galadriel now resided with her husband. Lindir was so excited about all the stories that Maglor didn’t really have the heart to stop the youngling. Almost the whole day had passed when Maglor suddenly felt a strange presence behind him and was greeted by Erestor’s gaze.

Erestor politely dragged Maglor away from Lindir and promised to return the older elf to the youngling the following morn. Maglor pretended to look offended but complied with Erestor’s orders. The counsellor took Maglor to a balcony where he started asking Maglor questions.

Truth to be told, Maglor was only glad that he didn’t have to force anything down his throat at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and now we have also found the mysterious elf in green :D


	4. In Which There is Singing and Glorfindel

Erestor did question Maglor a lot about the dreams and his life. Although Maglor could see he was interested, he didn’t press Maglor on the matters he seemed uncomfortable on. It was as if the younger elf could read Maglor’s face like an open book. (Which Maglor hoped Erestor wasn’t capable of for Maglor had always been the kind who wouldn’t want to show their feelings very openly to others.) At times Maglor could slip in questions about Imladris and Elrond and other residents of Imladris. (Erestor realized that the older elf was interested in Lindir and his music which amused him. Of course a musician would be interested in another musician.)

“So you are completely sure you do not want to tell Elrond about those dreams of yours?” Erestor questioned for what seemed to be the hundredth time. “He would be more than glad to help you.”

“I shouldn’t burden him more than I already have”, Maglor answered. “I am sure he himself has had those dreams and that I have been the cause for many of them. I do not wish to cause him any more burden than he already has. One day he will be too burdened and he will need someone to help _him_. I want to be the one helping him, not the one causing burden.”

“Well, if you ever need it, he’ll surely help you”, Erestor chuckled. “And I almost forgot, have you met Glorfindel yet?”

“Glorfindel… Do you mean the same Glorfindel that slew the balrog?” Maglor asked with the most horrified expression Erestor had ever seen. (The previously most horrified expression had been Elrond’s after he had found out that Celebrían had gone into labour but moments before and the knowledge had caused Elrond to almost faint.) “How can it be him? He died slaying that balrog or so I heard!”

“He was let out from the Halls of Mandos in order to be sent back to Middle-Earth to aid lord Elrond”, Erestor told. “Apparently all the elves that have died will be reborn after lingering in Mandos’ halls for some time. Only those who have committed unforgivable crimes may be held there until the unmaking of this world…”

“Then there won’t be much hope for my brothers”, Maglor stated and his shoulders slumped. “You know, they took part in the kinslayings and all… Amras could have a chance for he was burned at Losgar but I’m sure he’d rather stay with Amrod in Mandos to heal all the hurts Amrod might have… Not to mention our other brothers… And if I’d return, I am sure either Fingon or Turgon will eat my head…”

A badly hid snort of laughter sounded from Erestor’s direction and Maglor raised his eyebrow at the younger elf.

“Was I really that fun?” Maglor questioned.

“I have yet to see a head being eaten from a living body”, Erestor chuckled.

“That was an expression”, Maglor muttered.

“You’re outside the library, Erestor!” a surprised voice exclaimed from the doorway. Maglor turned around and saw a tall male elf with mighty golden hair standing in the doorway and gaping at Erestor. “I haven’t seen you in a week and now you’re outside – who is this?”

“For your information, Glorfindel, I do not always stay in the library”, Erestor sighed. “I just simply find it the most comfortable area to do my work which I have loads of. And this person here is Maglor Fëanorion, the foster-father of lord Elrond.”

“But you do spend a lot of time in the library”, the golden-haired elf – Glorfindel – muttered. He then turned to Maglor and bowed. “Mae govannen, Maglor Fëanorion. It is an honour to meet you finally. Lord Elrond has told much good of you.”

“If you’d be so polite to the rest of the world, you wouldn’t be in a constant danger of receiving an arrow from Haldir every time you visit Lórien”, Erestor chuckled.

“That’s different, Erestor!” Glorfindel said while frowning. “Maglor here is an honoured elf who raised lord Elrond for a time but Haldir is more on the same line as me, being a guard and all.”

“Whatever you decide”, Erestor agreed, rolling his eyes.

“Oh! You have some nice wine there!” Glorfindel exclaimed. “Can I have some too?”

“Glorfindel the Fair, always there for the wine!” Erestor snorted exasperatedly. “Go ahead, we have much of it and the night has barely started.”

Glorfindel dragged another chair to the table where Erestor and Maglor were sitting at and poured himself a glass of wine. When Maglor would think back to the moment in the future, he’d realise that Erestor had had three glasses on the table even though only Erestor and Maglor were supposed to be there. Later he would realise that Erestor was impossibly good at understanding how people’s minds worked and that way he could always reserve few extra glasses or bottles of wine. But that night was only for friendly banter and music from the valley. At one point Erestor pointed out that it must have been Lindir singing a song Maglor knew too and, without giving a much thought to it, Maglor joined the song, singing it in Quenya while Lindir sang in Sindarin. Both Glorfindel and Erestor’s eyes widened in amazement of hearing the ancient language sung by Maglor.

“He’s amazing”, Glorfindel whispered to Erestor while Maglor was singing. “Now I completely understand what made Elrond love music so much.”

“I thought he had lost his ability to sing while he was fading”, Erestor whispered in amazement. “I remember hearing whispers of his talent when I was but an elfling…”

“Then how come I never heard anything of him?” Glorfindel asked silently.

“You lived in Gondolin”, Erestor stated. “And I cannot imagine king Turgon would have spoken of his half-cousins very happily…”

“You’re right”, Glorfindel whispered, his eyes still fixed on the singing elf. “I hope he’ll sing some more.”

When the song ended, Maglor almost fell on his chair, panting a little. His cheeks had gained some colour and his eyes seemed a bit more focused than they had been when Erestor had first met the elf.

“I should practice some more”, he whispered, more to himself than to his companions. “It used to be so easy…”

“Then Lindir would be more than happy to practice with you”, Glorfindel said with a wide grin. Maglor’s shoulders jolted up and he turned to look at Glorfindel with a startled expression. “What? Did you already forget about us?” the fair-haired elf-lord asked, grinning even more widely.

“I’m sorry, I was taken back in time for a moment”, Maglor whispered. “But it would indeed be nice to practice singing with Lindir, he is such a nice person.”

“Yes, he is”, Erestor smiled. “And he is also very clumsy… Please look after him…”

“If you’re referring to the case where Elrohir climbed into the tallest tree of Imladris because Lindir averted his eyes for half a minute, it wasn’t truly that bad”, Glorfindel laughed.

“Yes, that _alone_ wouldn’t have been that bad”, Erestor agreed. “However, as Lindir was looking for Elrohir, Elladan managed to somehow dive into one of the waterfalls… It was a miracle neither of them was hurt.”

Maglor’s face had gotten an interesting expression of worry which made Glorfindel howl with laughter. He patted Maglor’s back as he tried to calm down from his sudden laughing fit. As he finally calmed down, he had some tears on his cheeks from laughing too hard.

“I’m sorry for laughing”, he chuckled, “but your expression was almost identical to Elrond’s when he heard the news…”

“Now when you mention it, they share something in common”, Erestor agreed. “They are after all distant relatives so it wouldn’t be a surprise…”

“Or maybe growing up with me caused him to learn similar expressions”, Maglor guessed.

“That could also be true”, Glorfindel nodded. “Speaking of relatives and singing, maybe you could perform while lord Celeborn and lady Galadriel of Lórien visit two weeks from now?”

“What?” Maglor asked with even more horrified expression that the previous had been. “No I can’t be here when she comes, she’ll surely kill me… Or worse; she’ll summon someone to take me to the Valar and they will kill me for sure… Or at least confine me in the Void…”

“Calm down, Maglor, surely she won’t kill you”, Glorfindel said. “At worst she’ll probably just beat you senseless.”

“That’s not helping, Glorfindel!” Erestor exclaimed and turned to Maglor. “Maglor, I think you should think this overnight and talk to Elrond tomorrow but I swear if you run away, I will hunt you down and drag you back to Imladris.”

“I… understand”, Maglor whispered. “Just promise me you won’t swear upon anything, I have bad memories of oaths and such.”

“I understand”, Erestor smiled. “Now, do you want me to escort you to your room or will you find the way by yourself?”

“Actually, it would be nice to get someone to show me the way”, Maglor said chuckling nervously. “This place is so darn huge I get lost…”

Glorfindel burst out laughing again and even Erestor smiled a bit. The taller elf patted Maglor’s back again and started leading the way. (Only to realise halfway that he had no clue where Maglor’s room was so Erestor had to lead the way.) When Maglor finally had bid the duo goodnight, he lay down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He desperately tried to think of ways to get away before Artanis – _Galadriel_ – would come to visit.

 _Come to think of it, where the heck is Elros?_ Maglor thought suddenly. _No one mentions him and there’s no one who even looks relatively like Elrond near this area… Maybe I should ask Elrond tomorrow…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry and I will be even more sorry by the end of next chapter...


	5. In Which There is A Pressing Question

On the morning Maglor felt better he had ever felt after swearing the Oath in Valinor. Imladris had clearly refreshed his senses and the mood made him so much happier. He still couldn’t produce different expressions very well nor let out the sound of laughing (other than a small chuckle) but there had been process. He almost felt like he could dance from sheer happiness. (He decided he wouldn’t do that for it had been thousands of years since he had danced. He wouldn’t want anyone to see him stumbling around only because he’d been happy and decided to dance with no actual idea how to dance. Not a good idea at all.)

After an uneventful breakfast with Celebrían and the twins who seemed to think of Maglor as a distant uncle by now, Maglor was found by a very cheerful Lindir who told Maglor about a beautiful voice he had heard singing last night. Maglor mentally cursed himself for forgetting that he had promised to spend time with the young minstrel and politely told Lindir he wanted to talk with Elrond. (But of course he promised to spend the evening with the elf for he so wanted to play something again.) Maglor clumsily patted Lindir’s head and started walking towards Elrond’s office – only to return to Lindir few moments later and ask for directions for the last homely house still seemed like a maze to him.

After a short while Maglor finally reached the office and knocked the door. When no one answered, he knocked again – many times – until he found out that Elrond had been eating breakfast quite long. (When Elrond whose face was hidden by several parchments he had been reading walked into Maglor.) After few seconds of awkwardness Elrond opened the door and led a confused Maglor inside.

“So, how do you find Imladris, Maglor?” Elrond asked after sitting down at his desk. “You seem to be in better spirits already.”

“It is indeed very beautiful”, Maglor said with an almost smile on his face. “It’s so happy and nice here… I even managed to sing yesterday…”

“That voice was you?” Elrond exclaimed in amazement. After Maglor nodded, he sat down and continued, “I should have recognized your voice… You should have seen Lindir’s expression, he looked like he had never heard anything as beautiful as your voice…”

“In that case he should hear his own voice”, Maglor decided. “He sings very well…”

“That is true”, Elrond grinned. “But it is not every night the elves of Imladris get to hear an ancient noldorin prince sing.”

“I’m hardly a prince anymore”, Maglor mumbled. “I can’t even sing like I used to be able to… I’m hardly the same Macalaurë Fëanorion I used to be…”

“But you’re healing”, Elrond said with a gentle smile that reminded Maglor slightly of Finwë himself. It was like something from Maglor’s own grandfather had descended all the way to the young elf sitting in front of Maglor. “You are healing and I will make sure you will be healed so you can meet all your family members and relatives again as a healthy elf”, Elrond declared sounding so sure that Maglor felt himself shrinking a bit.

 _He has so high hopes of me…_ Maglor thought while looking at Elrond who was almost beaming.

“Oh, you probably wanted to talk to me about something else, didn’t you?” Elrond said suddenly, almost as if he’d completely forgotten.

“Yes”, Maglor breathed. “I was wondering… Where is Elros? No one talks about him, no one here looks even remotely like him… Has something happened to him?”

Elrond’s face had shown an endless amount of grief while Maglor spoke but by the end of Maglor speech his face was blank as a parchment. For a moment Elrond looked down, making Maglor dread the answer. Something had happened and it was painful to Elrond. Maglor was almost ready to walk straight to his foster-son and hug him when Elrond finally looked at him with a sad smile.

“I don’t know if you know about this”, Elrond started with a quiet voice, “but half-elves can choose to live either mortal or immortal life. If they choose mortality, they will become one of the race of men, they will only live a bit longer than men usually do. It was sometime after you and Maedhros had retrieved the remaining silmarils and Elros and I had lived in Lindon when the Valar asked us to choose our fates. As you can see, I chose to remain as one of the firstborn but Elros… he chose mortality. He’s passed on from this world.”

Maglor stared at Elrond in utter silence. Surely this was another prank of the twins. Elros would soon barge in from the window and hug Maglor with ferocity like Maedhros’ had been. Then the twins would launch into another story of how their lives had been and all would be well.

“Maglor?” Elrond asked quietly. “It’s the truth, we’re not pranking this time. Elros is long gone, we will never see him again.”

Maglor looked at Elrond again and then, to the younger elf’s surprise, hugged Elrond as tight as he could. At first the half-elf tried to wriggle out of the embrace because of his surprise but soon enough he let the noldo hug him as long as he wanted.

“You know, when I was about to marry Celebrían, I was very afraid that one of our future children would choose mortality”, Elrond whispered. “I kept telling her there was a chance we would lose a child probably hundred times at least. Guess what she said to reassure me.”

“What was it?” Maglor murmured.

“She said that then we’d just have to love our children twice as much”, Elrond said with a fond smile on his lips. “It really took me by surprise how she just decided that even though there could be terrible pain in our futures, we should see only the present and have our happiness when we still have it… I really love that part of her…”

“She is like a saint”, Maglor whispered. “I’ve never met anyone with that kind of mentality…”

“She is a saint”, Elrond chuckled. “I still sometimes wonder how lady Galadriel and lord Celeborn let a person like me marry her…”

“I think she thinks you’re the best person she could hope for her husband”, Maglor said and ruffled Elrond’s hair. “I need to go now, I promised to spend time with Lindir today. I’m… I’m sorry for making you remember such painful things…”

“Do not apologize”, Elrond said. “You genuinely did not know and I think knowing the truth is better than not knowing even though the truth would hurt because in the end not knowing would hurt more…”

Maglor flashed an almost-smile at Elrond and hugged him. Then he left Elrond’s office and started looking for Lindir. He soon found the young elf sitting by a small waterfall, absentmindedly plucking his harp. When Maglor got closer, he realized that Lindir’s eyes were fixed on a pair of small birds that were singing happily. Apparently Lindir was trying to play the birds’ song by ear. Maglor listened for a while and then started humming the song out loud. Lindir’s shoulders jolted up and he turned to see the older elf who happened to be staring at him with an expression full of sadness.

“Valar”, Lindir breathed when he saw Maglor’s expression. “Did something happen?”

Maglor nodded while Lindir desperately tried to scramble to Maglor. When the youngling got close enough, Maglor pulled him up and they walked to the nearest bench where Maglor almost fell down on the bench.

“Did something happen with lord Elrond?” Lindir asked quietly. “You look like someone just died…”

“I just found out I’ve lost a son”, Maglor whispered. “Moreover, I thought first that it was some sort of prank and Elrond had to explain I really only had one son now…”

“I’m so sorry”, Lindir mumbled hastily with a clearly shocked expression. “If… if it helps in any way, I know the feeling of losing a loved one since my parents died few hundred years ago…”

“How doesn’t it affect you…?” Maglor asked with a great deal of confusion in his voice and turned to face Lindir. The latter flashed him a small smile and opened his mouth.

“My father told me I was supposed to grieve”, Lindir said with a sad smile. “You see, my mother was killed by orcs first, I was barely hundred years old then. It was horrible for both ada and me and he… he didn’t grieve at all because he was always comforting me. I was too young then, I could not see the signs of fading and one morning ada wouldn’t wake up… I didn’t know what to do and then I remembered lord Elrond had been talking with ada so I ran to him… It must have been a shock for him to see a barely hundred-year-old elf running to him, telling how his ada wouldn’t move and that lord Elrond needed to help the elf…”

“Your father was a wise man…” Maglor whispered. “Were you already residing in Imladris at that time?”

“Yes”, Lindir said with a true smile now. “I’m glad I was because without lord Elrond’s help I wouldn’t be here at all. It was him who asked me if I wanted to become a minstrel and master Erestor and lord Glorfindel almost consider me as a little brother of sorts.”

 _This boy is like a walking ray of sunshine_ , Maglor thought. _These people here are truly good… I wish Elros could have seen this place…_

“But the point of what I said was that if you lose someone, you’re very much allowed to grieve”, Lindir said suddenly. “In fact, you’re _supposed to_ grieve because if you don’t, you’ll end up fading like my father did and I don’t want to lose a friend to fading all over again like I lost my ada.”

_Friend? Does someone really consider a murderer like me friend?_

“I… I don’t know how to do that”, Maglor whispered. “I can’t remember what it is like to show my emotions or how to feel anything… I just… It just hurts so much…”

“Then could you maybe talk about it?” Lindir asked. “I can listen as much as you need to and so will probably Erestor and Glorfindel. And lord Elrond of course.”

“I can’t burden him anymore…” Maglor breathed. “He’s helped me so much and only got pain in return… I should be helping him…”

“I think you have to help yourself before helping lord Elrond”, Lindir smiled. “He can wait a day or two but you can’t. Please let out what you’re hiding so you will not fade.”

Maglor could only stare at the young elf whose wisdom was like Finwë’s had been. _How unfair_ , Maglor thought. _This child has to be helping me recover when I should be able to do it myself… How utterly stupid. All it takes is just to unlock the place where I keep all the pain… Come on Maglor, you can do it gracefully._

But the world seemed to have slightly different plans for Maglor. When he started sorting out his emotions, the feelings attacked him with such a force he could not breathe for a moment. When he finally could, he realized he was crying like he had done while Amrod had been buried. All the emotions had been unlocked and now they were fleeing from Maglor, falling down like waterfalls or raindrops. Before Lindir could react, Maglor had hidden his face in his palms and started weeping for Elros and all the lost years he could have lived. He wept for Maedhros and their brothers as well as their cousins who had been slaughtered in horrible ways. He wept for Artanis who was probably feeling as terrible as he did for being one of the two grandchildren of Finwë who had survived Ennor.

But most he wept for Elrond who had lost way too much for someone as kind and good as him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry... They all have it a bit too rough...


	6. In Which There is Comfort (And Elrond is Hungry)

Elrond was rubbing his throbbing temples. Of course Maglor wouldn’t have remembered, he had already been fading when Elros died. Maglor’s question had caught Elrond off guard and he hadn’t had time to prepare himself for the oncoming rain he had smelled in the morning. As always, he had a headache because of the atmosphere the rain had which didn’t exactly make his moods any better. He tried to consume himself in his work to forget his headache and didn’t hear the door to his office opening and closing quietly. In fact, he didn’t realise there was anyone else in the room until a pair of small elves ran to him and simultaneously tried to jump on his lap, knocking each other down in the process. He glanced down with a surprised expression and saw his sons grinning at him, both having small bruises in their foreheads.

“Where did you come from?” Elrond asked, still a bit surprised.

“From the door, my dear”, Celebrían’s gentle voice told from the other side of Elrond’s desk. “You haven’t eaten anything since the lunch so Elladan and Elrohir wanted to take some food to you since your work seemed important to them.”

“But wasn’t it morning just a moment ago?” Elrond asked and looked at the window. When he looked out of the window, he saw rain falling down heavily from an almost pitch-black sky. Elrond sighed and rubbed his temples again. _Great_ , he thought. _I hope Maglor hasn’t left because I can’t go looking for him in this downpour…_

“What is it, ada?” Elrohir asked while leaning on Elrond’s left knee. “Are you tired?”

“Yes, I am tired and hungry and the rain makes my head hurt”, Elrond smiled and stood up. “So, won’t we go eat then? I bet you three are starving as well.” Elrond scooped his sons up so they were on his arms and hurried past an uncontrollably giggling Celebrían who followed the trio. They walked down to the kitchens to have a late lunch (and see what they’d have for supper as well) and hopefully steal some of the late strawberries.

When they arrived to the kitchens, they were met with peculiar sight. Maglor and Lindir were both sitting on one of the benches, both dripping wet on the stone floor. Both were holding cups of steaming tea and they were covered in blankets. Next to them was standing Erestor who was trying to dry his hair while eyeing Maglor worriedly. When Elrond looked at Maglor, he saw that the latter was crying silently and avoiding Elrond’s gaze. Elrond quietly walked next to Maglor and placed his hand on the latter’s shoulder, only to realise that the latter was trembling uncontrollably, both from the cold and his crying.

“What has happened?” Elrond asked, looking for answers from Lindir and Erestor. Erestor frowned and Lindir looked a bit apologetic.

“I think it might be my fault, lord Elrond”, Lindir piped up. “Maglor seemed to be really down when I met him and he told me he had lost his son and of course I went and told him he should mourn for his son and suddenly he was weeping so much and I didn’t know what to do and it started to rain…”

“Maglor would not move when it started to rain so I dragged them here”, Erestor explained. “I think it’s better to let him calm down before we shower him with questions…”

Elrond nodded and sat next to Maglor, taking his cup of tea and placing it on the table behind them. He then wrapped his arms around Maglor’s shaking shoulders and let the older elf cry on his shoulder while trying to talk to him gently. Elladan walked to Maglor and climbed on his lap while Elrohir jumped onto Lindir’s lap. Elladan patted Maglor’s chest and Elrohir smiled widely to a confused Lindir.

“What happened, Maglor?” Elrond asked quietly when Maglor finally had ceased his crying.

“It was so wrong”, Maglor whispered. “Elros is dead and Maedhros is dead and you have lost and suffered so much and I was just selfishly wandering around while I should have been there for you…”

“What has ada lost?” Elrohir asked suddenly.

“Too much”, Maglor mumbled. “He has lost so much that if I told you, you wouldn’t be able to sleep at night…”

“Can’t ada sleep at night?” Elladan asked worriedly. “If you can’t sleep, you can sleep with Elrohir and me! After all, ada and nana always let us sleep with them if we can’t sleep.”

Elrond chuckled and patted Elladan’s head while Lindir was desperately holding his laughter. Maglor wriggled out of Elrond’s embrace and hugged the elfling which caused Elrohir to pout and climb to Celebrían’s lap.

“Do you wish to talk about it, Maglor?” Celebrían asked gently. “It will not do you well to keep all your pain inside.”

“I… I don’t really know”, Maglor said hoarsely. “I just know that I’d like to stay here for a while so I can sort out my thoughts and know what to do next…”

“Of course you can stay here”, Celebrían told. “I am sure my mother will be delighted as well to see you alive and healing…”

“When were your parents coming again?” Elrond asked. “I almost forgot about them coming…”

“Actually, I got a bird from ammë today”, Celebrían said with an apologetic smile. “Apparently they’ve already set out and are coming in a week and a half… Their original plan was for them to be here after three weeks…”

“That’s soon”, Maglor mumbled. “I wonder if I’ll be presentable by that time…”

“Well at least you don’t smell and you actually look like you’ve had something to eat”, Erestor told. “That’s a start, I guess.”

At that Elrond burst out laughing and Lindir started trembling with suppressed laughter. Elladan and Elrohir giggled and Celebrían smiled a smile a lot like Maglor remembered Artanis’ smile had been. Erestor raised an eyebrow at the reaction. He had certainly not tried to be funny.

“I didn’t mean that”, Maglor mumbled. “I meant that I hope I will be calm enough to meet her in public…”

“You do not have to meet my mother in public if you don’t want to”, Celebrían said with her smile. “I am sure she’d prefer some privacy as well. After all, you haven’t met each other for ages…”

“If that could be arranged, I would be overly grateful”, Maglor whispered.

“I hope my father won’t be too cold to you though…” Celebrían mumbled. “After all, he was from Doriath and he isn’t exactly happy about the topic of the kinslaying…”

“I am sure we can sort that out”, Elrond said with a smile. “Now, I have a proposal. Can we finally go eat? I think I’m starving…”

Celebrían laughed with a voice that sounded like small bells chiming and hugged Elrond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the end we can hope Maglor is well... (And Elrond gets the lunch he needs)


	7. In Which Galadriel Appears (And Gives Maglor A Much-Needed Hug)

The days before the arrival of Galadriel and Celeborn of Lothlorien went on quite fast until it was the morning of the couple’s arrival. For the whole previous day Maglor had felt dread build up in the pit of his stomach until in the morning it felt unbearable. He managed to eat only few fruits at breakfast and after it he headed straight to the secluded gardens. Having already agreed to Maglor waiting in the gardens, Elrond could not stop Maglor from leaving even though the lord and lady of the Golden Wood would probably not arrive until noon at earliest.

Maglor sat down near a waterfall and started plucking the harp he had gotten from Lindir few days prior. As they day went slowly by, he came up with new melodies and words. ( _Or were they old? He was not too sure…_ ) And almost too soon he heard distant galloping of horse hooves. Listening closely, he heard a distantly familiar female voice inquiring his whereabouts. Then, suddenly, he heard bare feet rushing to his direction and before he could stop it, a fair _elleth_ had appeared in front of him.

Artanis did not seem the same little lady whom Maedhros would always lift up on his shoulders nor did she look like the warrior Maglor had heard stories of. She seemed to have gained a great wisdom during all the years she had lived in Middle-Earth. However, as soon as her eyes fell on Maglor, she was suddenly the young elleth who’d always come to Maglor or Maedhros after Fëanor had said something she didn’t like. She choked back a sob and in the matter of seconds Maglor found his arms full of sobbing _Galadriel_. He could not help but to smile at his cousin and wrap his arms around her trembling shoulders. ( _How long had it been since he last had held her like this?_ )

“You utter idiot”, Galadriel mumbled from Maglor’s chest. “What in the name of the Valar made you think it was a good idea to wander for _millennia_ on and on after Nelyo’s suicide? You should have come to me that exact second, surely I could have hidden you somewhere until the Valar would have calmed down.”

“I’m sorry”, Maglor whispered. “I don’t think I was thinking very straight at that moment… The grief blinded me, I couldn’t cause anyone else any more grief…”

“You hopeless fool”, Galadriel muttered. “You’d better stay here with Elrond now when you’ve been found…”

“Will you hunt me down if I don’t?” Maglor asked quietly as he buried his face on Galadriel’s soft tresses and started trembling when all the dread and anxiety left his body. He stroked Galadriel’s back while she gripped his tunic from his back. He rocked slowly back and forth, much like her father had done while comforting her after a nightmare or something similar.

“It will be alright soon, Artanis”, Maglor whispered. “You’ll be able to sail back to Valinor and you’ll see your brothers again for they will be reborn from the halls of Mandos soon enough…”

“But what about you?” Galadriel asked and looked at Maglor. “Will you be able to sail and meet your brothers? I will not leave if you do not.”

“Please do not say such strong words”, Maglor pleaded with a sad smile. “I am a kinslayer, eternally banished from Valinor. Even if my brothers were reborn on those shores, I never shall meet them again.”

“I will drag you there if I must”, Galadriel whispered, looking almost angry. “I swear I will have you meet your brothers again even if it would be my last deed.”

“Grandmother, please don’t swear things”, Elladan’s small voice piped up from the area around Maglor’s right leg. “Ada told us it may be very dangerous and that it could make many people very sad…”

“Oh, dear Elladan…” Galadriel whispered, smiling a sad smile. “I only want Maglor to feel happy after all these years of sadness… I do not wish hurt upon any being on this world.”

“Has uncle Maglor been sad?” Elrohir asked worriedly. “Should he not talk with ada or someone else who can help him feel better?”

“I talked with Lindir”, Maglor told and scooped Elrohir up to his lap. “Your grandmother is talking about a time long before your birth… It was a time of war and death, a time when countless of lives were lost by all races that now live on this Earth. Your father was born at that time, as was his brother and my brother and I… looked after them after their parents… had to leave…”

“Why did they have to leave?” Elladan asked from Galadriel’s lap. “Will they ever come back?”

“They cannot”, Galadriel explained. “The Valar have appointed the task of sailing the skies to your grandfather Eärendil whom we know as the first star of the night. Not until you father sails to Valinor can he meet his parents again.”

“I don’t want ada to sail!” Elrohir exclaimed. “Last night he told us that he will stay with us as long as we want him to! Why’d he suddenly sail?”

“Who said I’d sail?” Elrond’s worried voice asked from the path from where Galadriel had rushed to Maglor. Elrohir exclaimed happily and ran to his father who lifted the elfling on his left shoulder. “I would never leave my family here while I’d sail.”

“But grandmother said the only way for you to meet your family would be to sail!” Elladan said with a great deal of worry in his small voice.

“I think I can wait for few thousand years more to see my children grow”, Elrond laughed with a gentle smile as he allowed Elladan to climb on his right shoulder. “I don’t want my family to feel abandoned after all because you’re the best thing that has ever happened to me…”

“Then ada is the best thing that has happened to us!” Elrohir declared happily and hugged Elrond’s head.

“Ada is the best ada!” Elladan declared and hugged Elrond’s head from the other side, causing Elrond get completely blinded and stagger around a bit.

“Could you not do that while I’m standing boys?” Elrond asked. “I can’t see anything… And I think you will have something even better happen to you when you grow up…”

“But what could possibly be better?” the twins asked in unison.

“Maybe friends you will make”, Elrond sighed. “One day you will think I’m weird and old-fashioned so let me enjoy the time we have together now… Oh, the dinner will be served in another few hours and I think lord Celeborn would like to meet Maglor before that.”

With that Elrond tried to walk (or more like staggered) away with Elladan and Elrohir on his shoulders. For some time Maglor and Galadriel only stared after the elf-lord and suddenly they found themselves laughing heartily at the weird sight. They could not help but adore Elrond’s way of taking care of his two little sons which must certainly have been because he was a father. They could remember their own fathers taking care of their families in similar manner. Fëanor would always lift any of his sons up in the air and run around like a headless cow or horse (much to Nerdanel’s annoyance) while Finarfin would always have fun with all of his children, especially little Artanis.

“Should we go?” Galadriel asked as she calmed down. “I really want to introduce you to my husband before we head to dinner.”

“Can you promise me he won’t eat my head?” Maglor asked, raising his eyebrow. “If I remember anything right, he’d easily be able to kill a person or two if he was ever forced to do so…”

“Believe me, he might even give you a hug”, Galadriel said with a loving smile. “He was even quicker to accept Elrond’s proposal for our daughter’s hand than I was and I never would have had anything against it… Poor Elrond was so terrified while asking that when we happily exclaimed that we’d be more than happy to see him married to my dear Celebrían that I think his heart stopped for few seconds…”

“…He surely can’t be that scary?” Maglor asked with a terrified expression.

“No, I think Elrond was more terrified of me than him”, Galadriel laughed. “To him I must be a scary noldorin lady who was alive already at Fëanor’s time…”

“He knows better than that”, Maglor said sadly as he followed Galadriel to where she believed she and Celeborn would be staying during their visit.

“I know he does”, Galadriel said and flashed a sad smile to Maglor. “But I kind of wish he’d be a bit more childlike… He grew up so fast thanks to his human blood but I know he has a childish side too…”

“You almost sound like you’d want to be his mother”, Maglor sighed.

“That must be because of my dear Celeborn”, Galadriel laughed. “He sees Elrond as the son he never had, and somehow I just love seeing him dote over Elrond and our daughter…”

“My dear, Artanis really is in love”, Maglor grinned. “Well, if your husband is as you tell me, I have to meet him…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, after the next chapter I don't have any material written out yet... please bear with me :'D


	8. In Which Celeborn Has Fallen Asleep And Celebrían Has A Laugh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY for not posting this one in so long time... I had graduation exams and in general I just had about 0 energy all the time... I hope you will forgive me....

The first sight Maglor had of Celeborn of Doriath was indeed peculiar.

He lay fast asleep on a big bed in Galadriel and his chamber in Imladris. The scene made Maglor shiver because he clearly remembered how Amrod and Amras would always sleep in the exact same manner, legs and arms sprawled out as far as they could reach. He wondered how in the world Galadriel managed to sleep with him. _She probably kicks him if he sprawls out too much_ , Maglor thought. _Or maybe she just snuggles up to him and he has to stop sprawling out…_

“Celeborn my dear, wake up”, Galadriel whispered from where she had knelt down beside the bed. “Maglor is here and I want to introduce him to you.”

“What…?” Celeborn asked wearily as he slowly woke from the elvish slumber. “Oh… Is that your famous cousin whom our little Celebrían found…?”

“Indeed he is, my love, but before I introduce you two to each other, you must awaken”, Galadriel laughed with a fond smile. “You look like Celebrían when she was little and would not want to awaken before the breakfast would have long ended.”

“Oh… Great to know I still bear some of our daughter’s charm”, Celeborn laughed sleepily. “Good morning, prince Maglor!”

“It is evening, my love”, Galadriel whispered.

“Is it already?” Celeborn asked, looking out of the window. “I didn’t realise how the time flew.”

“It indeed is hard to realise how time flies when one is asleep”, Maglor said while the ends of his mouth tugged upwards. “It is an honour to meet you, lord Celeborn.”

“As well it is to meet you, prince Maglor”, Celeborn said with a bow. “I hope we can leave past deeds behind and focus on the happiness today.”

“I… don’t think I quite caught your meaning”, Maglor said slowly. _Now when he speaks, I remember how hard Sindarin elves are to understand_ , he thought.

“I think he means that you should not think of what happened in the past”, Galadriel translated. “After all, Doriath happened so long ago that it holds quite a little meaning as of now. Although I think many elves still hold grudges against you because of that day…”

“And I am quite positive Elrond would lock us into a dungeon or something if we cause a fight here”, Celeborn joked with a wide smile.

Maglor couldn’t help but snort with suppressed laughter. _Oh, I never knew how great the elves of Middle-Earth were_ , he thought. He was going to like this new family Elrond had here in Imladris.

“I should probably take my leave then”, Maglor smiled. “I hope to meet you again at supper.”

Maglor quickly left the room after having bid his goodbyes to Galadriel and Celeborn. He made his way straight to his favourite spot in the gardens and sat down on the bench where he had been spending time until Galadriel had rushed there to hug him.

Soon Maglor realised he was hearing footsteps nearing his little hideout. He could instantly tell that it was an elf because of the lightness of the steps so he would just wait. It would probably be someone he knew because no other elf would come to so he had no need to worry. As he predicted, he soon was facing Celebrían’s brightly smiling face which made even the clouds go away.

“I take it that everything went well?” Celebrían asked lightly. “Your head seems to be very much intact so is it safe to assume my father did not eat your head? I heard from Erestor that you had had concerns about that…”

At that Maglor couldn’t help but to outright burst out laughing. He held his stomach and desperately tried to gasp for air as Celebrían sat next to him. As soon as Maglor had calmed down, she started telling about how the small twins had cannonballed themselves into Celeborn as soon as they had seen him get down from his horse. Of course they had told Celeborn and Galadriel about Maglor right away since they saw him as a distant uncle and they absolutely adored him. That had been where Galadriel had rushed to Maglor without even giving a word to anyone.

“Your mother is quite a lady”, Maglor sighed. “She didn’t think at all… But I don’t blame her for that, if it had been Maedhros or any other of my brothers I’d probably have done the same…”

“I’m just very glad you didn’t have any troubles with my father”, Celebrían laughed. “After all, he can be quite temperamental at times and seeing what happened to Doriath, I wouldn’t be surprised even if he started another kinslaying…”

“Oh, we’d never do that”, Maglor said with a grin. “We fear Elrond’s fury all too much to do that.”

It was Celebrían’s turn to laugh at Maglor’s comment. She held her sides and her laughter sounded like the small waterfalls in Imladris.

“Dear cousin, our Elrond wouldn’t hurt even a fly”, Celebrían giggled. “Although he did fight in the Last Alliance between men and elves, he is normally very kind and caring. I do think he could stop both of you from destroying yourselves if he tried hard enough…”

“Well, Maedhros did train Elrond quite strictly”, Maglor remarked. “So I definitely wouldn’t want Elrond as my enemy.”

“Neither would I”, said a voice behind the duo. Both Maglor and Celebrían turned around to see Erestor looking at them while trying to suppress a smile. “Did you know that he once fought a pack of orcs alone?”

“What?” Maglor asked, surprised because of the new information. “How in the world did he do _that_?”

“It was once when he was on his way to Lórien and he was ambushed by orcs”, Erestor told and sat on another bench. “It was before he married lady Celebrían and he just wanted to see lady Celebrían again after being away from Lórien for years…”

“Oh, it was _that_ time!” Celebrían chuckled. “Just imagine my surprise when he arrives to Lórien covered in orc blood and grumbling about how the orcs tried to keep him from coming… I think ammë’s heart stopped for a second there!”

“Mine would have stopped too”, Erestor sighed. “Not only had he no armour, he had somehow broken his left arm too and gotten a deep cut on his right shoulder. And the only thing he was worried about was not seeing lady Celebrían. He truly was a bit mad because of love at that time…”

“Sweet Valar”, Maglor breathed. “And I thought that Maedhros was the only one that had gone mad…”

Celebrían giggled again at Maglor and said it was probably the time to go if they wanted to make themselves presentable by the supper. At that moment Maglor remembered that he had promised to perform in the evening so he needed his harp too. He leaped up and ran to his room before Celebrían or Erestor could react.

The evening would be interesting indeed…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, we finally got Celeborn... Please do tell me what you think, I feel like I'm talking all alone here....


End file.
